"An animal that was taken from the backyard of a residence overnight, and it was injured and destroyed that night," said Dustin Bjornson of the Polk City Police Department.

Police and veterinarians don't know for sure what killed the pet because there weren't any eyewitnesses, but they say residents should be on guard.

"We've had a lot of concerns about coyotes in Polk City," said Bjornson.

"As populations go up and we are seeing that slightly in Iowa, they'll move and you know Polk City is right there kind of where they're located anyway in those wildlife areas," said Kevin Baskins of the Department of Natural Resources.

"Well, they've cleared a lot of land back there for these housings and so I'm guessing they're out of a place, so you see quite a few down at parker you know," said Mai Golbuff, a Polk City resident.

Polk City police want residents to do their part to keep those wandering coyotes from sticking around.

"We do ask you to haze them, which is to yell at them make noise, throw things at them, try to scare them away, try to change their behavior," said Bjornson.

"Once they find a good food source, it becomes habit to come back to that place," said Baskins.

Officials want you to make sure food for pets is kept inside.

"You know coyotes are extremely smart, and very adaptive, opportunistic," said Baskins.

Pet owners should keep an eye on their pets when they are outside, officials advise.